August 10, 2015 – Concrete Products

Indianapolis hosts 2015 Concrete Decor Show

August 10, 2015 Concrete News

Registration continues for the 2015 Concrete Decor Show, September 28–October 2 at the Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, and can be obtained at www.concretedecorshow.com. The show covers the full range of decorative concrete construction, including design, specification, preparation, placement, finishing, repair, resurfacing and maintenance—highlighting product applications and processes like precast, cast-in-place, coatings, finishes, flooring, countertops, landscape, pools, and vertical conditions. Joining contractors among attendees are design professionals, manufacturers, distributors/suppliers, resellers and retailers. Lead sponsors for the 2015 Concrete Decor Show are SureCrete Design Products and Kingdom Products.

Construction rebound bolsters St. Lawrence Seaway traffic

August 10, 2015 Concrete News

A U.S. construction surge has boosted bulk material transfer through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway since the start of the 2015 season. Officials report dry bulk cargo volume of nearly 3 million metric tons, up 7.5 percent through the first part of the season, April–June, against figures for the same period in 2014. Materials leading the way in volume gains are stone, with 102,000 metric tons delivered through June, up 24 percent from last year, and cementitious materials, with 563,000 metric tons, a 9.5 percent jump.

NRMCA adds Pre-Trip Inspection lessons to online safety training library

August 10, 2015 Concrete News

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

Pre-Trip Inspection lessons for rear discharge and front discharge mixer trucks are the latest additions to NRMCA’s Online Safety Series for drivers and fleet personnel. They contain the latest daily best practice, seven-step inspection procedures to help meet federal regulations, plus pointers for rear or front discharge models bearing liftable axles.

New ready mixed specification series support outreach to engineers

August 10, 2015 Concrete News

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association; CP staff

The NRMCA Research Engineering and Standards Committee has unveiled Specification in Practice (SIP), a series of two-page information sheets written in an easily understandable “What, Why and How?” format. The first five topics address commonly found, high priority prescriptive issues that impact the ability to produce concrete mixtures that are sustainable and attain target performance.

Trades Talent Dearth Tempers Strong Construction Employment Figures

August 10, 2015 Concrete News

An Associated General Contractors of America analysis of federal government data finds a mixed bag of positive indicators and growth constraints: Construction employment held steady in June at the highest level in six years, while the number of unemployed workers with industry experience fell to the lowest total since 2001, and contractors in many parts of the country are having a hard time finding enough qualified workers.

Commercial development metrics: Strong and still improving

August 10, 2015 Concrete News

In 2014, office, retail, health care and distribution facility developers logged their best year since 2007, and saw overall commercial real estate industry economic contributions jump 40 percent from the prior year—the largest gain since market recovery began in 2011. The upbeat figures are part of the NAIOP Research Foundation’s annual state of the industry report, “The Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate.”

Contech equips symbolic site

August 10, 2015 Concrete News

An Ohio-based innovator in concrete and composite drainage structures, Contech Engineered Solutions supplied a new stormwater detention system to Liberty Park, an elevated public space adjacent to the new World Trade Center in New York City. Scheduled for completion in 2017, Liberty Park will have a capacity of 750 people and sit 25 feet above Liberty Street, overlooking the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

Rocla Concrete frees Lehigh Hanson, Koppers partnership from railroad ties

August 10, 2015 Concrete News

The North American leader in prestressed concrete railroad ties has extended its market footprint and product range with the acquisition of KSA Limited Partnership, a Lehigh Hanson Inc. and Koppers Inc. joint venture serving primarily eastern U.S. markets from a Portsmouth, Ohio, plant.

Oldcastle Parent, Summit Materials Close on Overseas, North American Asset

August 10, 2015 Concrete News

In less than four weeks after its creation, LafargeHolcim Ltd. executed major asset sales per agreements with regulators in North America and overseas markets.

LafargeHolcim CEO plan: Integration, innovation and “growth in the right places”

August 10, 2015 Concrete News

Lafarge S.A. and Holcim Ltd. executives unveiled a new global leader in heavy building materials in mid July, presenting the merged business—LafargeHolcim Ltd., based in Zurich with major administrative office in Paris—as an operator of 2,500-plus cement, concrete and aggregate plants in 90 countries.